After a long delay, the CPC Central Committee held their much-expected 19th fourth plenary session (known as the Fourth Plenum) from the 28th to 31st October in Beijing. The meeting focused on the improvement on the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics and the modernization of the Chinese system.
While some claim that given the lengthy wait the Fourth Plenum was somewhat anticlimactic, there is plenty to analyse for China watchers, both in terms of political and economical aspects. Some examples of this are the leadership’s pledge to uphold the ‘one country, two systems’ and its firmer stance on Hong Kong. Furthermore, while on the surface the economic line did not change very much, some announcements related to developing a national system for breakthrough in core technologies, as well as references to supporting the state-owned economy might potentially become a concern for the foreign business community. In any case, the clearest outcome of this session is that Xi Jinping has once more come out triumphant, with his leadership reinforced.
The EU SME Centre and the European Chamber are thus delighted to invite you to join our next Policy Meeting, where Mr. Andrew Polk, Partner at Trivium China, and Mr. Christian Shepherd, Beijing Correspondent at the Financial Times, will address the Fourth Plenum from the viewpoint of China experts and lead a discussion on the matter. The event will take place on the18th November from 15:00 – 17:30 at Four Seasons Beijing and will be held under Chatham House rules.
Please note that this is a closed meeting open to consortium partners’ management and relevant stakeholders of EU SME Centre Phase II including European embassies or chambers of commerce only.
Agenda
15:00-15:30 Registration & Networking
15:30-15:40 Opening Remarks
15:40-17:00 Presentations with Christian Shepherd and Andrew Polk
17:00-17:30 Discussion and Q&A
About the speakers
Andrew Polk
Andrew comes to Trivium as the former Director of China Research at Medley Global Advisors, where he advised asset managers and hedge funds on developments in China’s economy and financial markets. He also served as resident China Economist at The Conference Board’s China Center, where he conducted economic analysis on the Chinese economy for corporate clients and co-authored The Long, Soft Fall in Chinese Growth.
Christian Shepherd
Christian Shepherd has been a journalist based in Beijing since 2015, writing about Chinese politics, diplomacy and industry, previously for Reuters and now for the Financial Times. He studied philosophy at Oxford, Chinese Studies at the University of Nottingham Ningbo and Mandarin Chinese at Tsinghua.
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